My brain is a very busy (crazy) place and sometimes I struggle to switch off.

I have read book after book on mindfulness, meditation and how to use yoga to quieten your mind. I’m so well informed but thoughts of what I ate for dinner or how much I want to go to Nepal still seem to plague me on a daily basis.

This morning I had the terrifying realisation that I am turning 25 next year. Whilst I obviously know how old I am, I have never really considered how close I am to the dreaded mid-twenties, and I think it’s safe to say that if anyone is going to have a quarter life crisis, it’ll be me.

But, being the optimistic girl that I am, I swiftly wrote myself a bucket list of 25 things I want to do before I’m 25. I turn 25 in September 2017, and I am feeling confident that a new me is just around the corner.

There’s no way I would ever be able to go through all the best places to eat in Auckland, but if you’re wandering around central Auckland looking for somewhere to have some food and bevys then look no further. I spent six months living in Auckland eating my way through my wages, so if anyone is well equipped to help you in a time of need, it’s me.

One of my goals returning from travelling was to cook more. I decided this would be a ‘homecoming’ goal when I attempted to make an mushroom omelette in Colombia on a hangover day and it turned into some horribly grey scrambled eggs. For some reason I decided to eat these anyway, a decision I spent the rest of the day regretting.

Past mistakes aside, I have decided to use cooking as a new form of therapy. It encourages mindfulness (a topic I have studied intently on my travels) and food makes people happy, and if there’s one thing we all strive for, it’s happiness.

I am currently on my way from San Pedro in Chile to La Serena, a town a 20 hour bus ride down the coast. I’m extremely distracted because I keep thinking the man is bringing round a snack. Rumour has it, we may get empanadas but I’ll keep you updated. If you want to hear about our few days in La Paz, the most dangerous city in Bolivia, read on.